Select Local Merchants

Designed to Move's concept is simple: provide a personal and affordable moving experience without the bureaucracy of larger moving chains. The owners are often on hand during local and long-distance moves to ensure quality of service and see that furniture pieces don't wander off on their own. What's more, they guarantee that the movers will roll up in their big white truck right on time. The company also offers an array of packing services, as well as temporary storage for furniture and mimes who want a taste of real captivity.

Whether you're wrapping a rectangle around your favorite still-shot or hunting for a specific tool or tint, Rainy Day's friendly, enthusiastic staff will happily assist in your artistic endeavors. The shop carries anything from Fun with Rock Painting kits ($9.95) to the Unemployed Philosophers Guild's Obamarama magnetic dress-up playsets ($12.99), as well as essentials for the established or aspiring artist, such as Prismacolor pencils ($19.31 for set of 12) and Crayola Ultimate Art Supplies sets ($21.19). On the custom framing side, the resident framesperts are equipped with a bounty of beautiful and inventive frames for a wide range of sizes. Though the pricing for elements varies just as much as their framed-in contents, framing averages around $15 to $25 per foot and around $145 total, depending on the glass, matting, and other options.

The DeRonne family continues its seven decades of hardware heritage by stocking life-simplifying hardware and home goods in the largest of the DeRonne True Value Hardware stores. Overcome childhood fears of the Canadian flag to eradicate autumn leaves and spruce-up down-spruced lawns with the help of a Green Thumb 24-inch rake ($9.49), 3-pound bag of fall-mix grass seed ($9.49), or weed and feed fertilizer ($10 for 5,000 sq. ft. of coverage). A Master Tradesman 8'x10' multipurpose tarp shelters moisture-sensitive goods from the elements ($8.99), and the shop's selection of Michigan-made products, such as Carhartt clothes, helps support and promote in-state manufacturers.

The hibernation experts at Mattress & Futon Shoppe help foster deep sleep with cushions from top brands such as Sealy, Stearns & Foster, and Corsicana. Well-versed in all forms of sleep habits, the store employees are happy to expound on the finer points of each mattress they keep in stock, which range from traditional innerspring beds to high-tech gel memory-foam mattresses. If your new mattress doesn't feel right or already has a family of monsters sleeping under it, Mattress & Futon Shoppe has a 100-day Don't Worry Sleep Happy comfort warranty, and you can return the unwanted item to one of 13 convenient locations.

Gary Morgan’s pest-control techniques have been refined through his encounters with insects in the most unexpected of places. Called in to help a business solve its carpenter-ant problem, Morgan checked all the usual spots but found nary a bug in the building’s wood or along the exterior. He then tracked the tiny creatures back to an unopened computer box. Inside, he found a nest in the keyboard, and saw that the ants were feeding on the rubber mechanisms that gave the keys their spring action.
Morgan thrives on solving pest problems like these, the jobs that make him “everybody’s hero.” Growing up an outdoorsy kid who enjoyed hunting, fishing, and teaching trees how to read, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up. Then his brother got him an interview at an exterminator, and he “knew this is what I was supposed to do.” After gaining experience by working for companies such as Orkin, the independently minded Morgan eventually struck out on his own in 2003, buying Aapex Pest Control a year later. Today, he continues vanquishing structure-infesting intruders from cockroaches to rodents and proudly proclaims he’s smote every bed bug that’s ever challenged him to a pillow fight. In addition to servicing clients’ homes, he also posts tips to help homeowners prevent pest intrusions.